Marriages in a religious building

To arrange a religious marriage ceremony you will need to speak to the priest or minister in charge of the building. They will be able to advise you what you need to do next and their fees.

A registrar will only have to attend the ceremony if there is no Authorised Person (this person will have been appointed by the Church Trustees; it can the priest or minister themselves or can be a member of the congregation).

You should contact the register office for the district where the religious building is situated to book a registrar. There will be additional fees payable for the registrar to attend.

Giving notice of marriage

If you marry in a Church of England (or Church of Wales) church, banns will normally be called, so you should not need to contact us.

If either party to the marriage is subject to immigration control, different rules apply and you will have to give notice of marriage before you can marry.

To marry in other churches or religious buildings, you will each have to give a legal notice of your marriage to the superintendent registrar of the district(s) in which you permanently live.

If the church or religious building is not in the district in which either of you live, you can only marry there if you qualify by worshipping at that church or religious building regularly.  The church or religious building must be your “usual place of worship” in order for your marriage to proceed.

If neither of you qualify, one or both of you must permanently live in that district for a minimum of seven clear days before giving notice of marriage with the registrar for that district. On the same day the party who remained at their usual address must also give notice in their home district.  Contact us for more advice if this applies to you.